PH: PH is the level of acidity or basicity in a body of water. Anything less than 7 is considered acidic anything above 7 is basic. Around neutral or 7 is a healthy reading for PH but slightly higher or lower than that is fine too. To test for turbidity you put some water in a PH meter or in a solution to find out for the reading. In Milton we had a reading of 7.6 for the meter and a 7.1 for the solution. In mcnulty we had 6.7 with the meter and 7.1 with the solution these are all good readings for both creeks. It’s important for the readings to be healthy because if they are too high or too low the organisms can die. Salmon fry would be able to survive in both creeks pretty successfully.

Dissolved Oxygen: The dissolved oxygen test is the test to see how much oxygen is in a body of water. About 8.0 is a healthy reading for this test and about 6.0 supports salmon spawning. In the Milton we got 6.3 and in the Mcnulty we got a 2.3 reading. This test is important because it tells how much oxygen is in the water. Salmon fry would be able to survive in the Milton but not the Mcnulty as the oxygen levels are way too low in the Mcnulty.

Velocity: Velocity is the test of the speed at which a body of water is moving. Ideal speeds are 5-15 mph. To test the velocity you measure out 10 meters across the stream then drop an apple in and use a stopwatch to see how long it takes to travel the 10 meters. My group did not have a complete reading for the stream because they said there apple got stuck while doing the test. It’s important for the velocity to be right because it incorporates oxygen into the stream. If the velocity is too low it could leave too little oxygen for organisms if it’s too high it could wipe out and kill organisms in the stream. Temperature: Temp is how warm or cold the water is. A healthy temp is anywhere around 15-17 degrees